Calls disconnected for man charged in fatal dog beating

A man accused of beating his girlfriend's Chihuahua to death was barred Thursday from using the phone at the DuPage County jail after prosecutors argued he violated court orders by calling the dog owner 24 times since his arrest about two weeks ago.

Judge Blanche Hill Fawell also increased Michael Chacon's bail from $75,000 to $100,000. She said she might reconsider his phone privileges, “but I want there to be some consequence for this large number of phone calls.”

Chacon's girlfriend took out an order of protection against the 23-year-old Glendale Heights man last week after he was charged with aggravated cruelty to an animal. According to her filing, she returned to their apartment on East Fullerton Avenue on July 28 to find her Chihuahua, named Tyson, dead of severe head injuries and Chacon mopping up blood.

The woman described a disturbing scene, with blood splattered on every wall of their home. She said Chacon had blood on his clothes and hands — there was even some in the freezer.

“His eyes and temper were not right, and I truly felt scared for my own life,” she wrote.

Chacon is accused of killing the dog a day after the couple had an argument over disciplining the animal. According to court records, Chacon had punished the Chihuahua for wetting the carpet by mashing the dog's face into the stain and dropping him into a litter box. He also threatened, “I will kill you and your dog,” the woman said.

The woman said the dog was “wagging his tail and barking a little, like usual” the next morning when she drove Chacon to work at an Elgin casino. Toward the end of the day, she said, Chacon called her at work, saying, “Tyson is dead.”

When she arrived home and confronted him, the woman said Chacon yelled in her face and threw a dog cage before locking himself in the bathroom.

“I believe his violent temper was due to heavy drug use,” the woman wrote in her petition.

In court Thursday, Assistant State's Attorney Deb Brewer said Chacon showed “complete disregard” for court orders by calling the woman repeatedly, despite her order of protection and a no-contact order placed on him as a condition of bond.

Assistant Public Defender Steve Dalton didn't address the cruelty allegations but said there was “almost zero likelihood” his client would be able to post bond. Chacon apparently misunderstood the court orders and has agreed not to contact the dog owner again, Dalton said, adding there were no threats made during the calls.

The woman's order of protection prohibits Chacon from being within 1,000 feet of her home and place of employment.

He also has been ordered to stay away from her cat.